Possible mites? How could I miss it? UPDATE

[MimzMum]

I am furious with myself.

Mimzy’s left ear has been showing some minute bleeding and ragged appeareance at the tip, which now seem to be fleshy looking growths about the size of pinheads at the end of his ear. At first I’d thought it was due to him scratching it with nails that were too long, but I cut them the other day and it’s still not healing like a cut to the skin would, so I’ve called the vet this morning because I’ve also suddenly found a small amount of waxy-looking stuff in his right ear.

I checked the other bunnies’ ears just to be safe, even though they are not in the same habitats and I am pretty strict about cleaning myself up after doing anything with each bunny since Mimzy’s nasal problems started.

Fiver has a moderate amount of some kind of wax-like stuff in his right ear. Pip’s ears look clean so far, but if it is mites I have to assume they all have them. Mostly because of their proximity to one another, and the beds I use for Fiver and Pip are the same ones.

How the hell did I not see this? There’s been no itching and scratching that would alarm me, just their usual stuff…they tend to dry out pretty bad in the house in winter, so I took any scratching they did to be that. Mimzy’s ears are VERY dry, and up till today looked totally clean except for the tip of the left which I noticed the day I clipped his nails.

They are all healthy otherwise. Eating, pooping, peeing, doing their daily things like always. Well, except Mimzy’s blowing great goobers again. I’d thought this was due to the suspicious hay that we figured was too moldy to eat, so we threw that out.

When I first saw the end of Mimzy’s ear was messed up, I was worried that it wasn’t mites, that perhaps Mimzy was developing mast cell tumors like what Shadow had in his ears the year before he died. Honestly, that’s more like what this looks like to me…except for the waxy stuff that appeared today. Mast cell would explain not only the ear, but all his other symptoms as well, since it is an auto-immune response gone haywire. This of course grieved me, but I think I am more scared of mites.

Is it *possible* this is not mites? Please say yes.

Anyway… now I’m screwed. The bunnies live in my room with me. And all my stuff. And Jenna. The occasional cat comes in there too. I stage their litterboxes in the kitchen on their folded xpens and their soiled matresses are usually in a bag there too. It’s impossible to go past their habitat and not give them a friendly scratch or noserub….and then Jenna will hop into my lap…CONTAMINATION??? I know everything is going to have to be spotlessly cleaned and I just don’t know how I’m going to feel, with my OCD, that I’ve done it all and properly. I don’t even know where to start…well…besides with the bunnies of course.

We don’t see the doc till 10 AM Wednesday, that’s when they can fit us in. I know to wash up more thoroughly while I’m waiting. Apparently they will give me medicine to treat any pet in the house who may be affected so I don’t have to haul in all three bunnies, the dog and the three cats, (God have mercy, that would be a nightmare), but they did say something about the mites may not be species jumpers. Is this true? Do I have to worry about us humans getting them? How far from the infection point will they spread?

I am so fastidious when it comes to cleaning the buns and keeping their habs neat. I have to be because of Mimzy’s nasal probs, in fact they get clean before anything else happens in this house.

I’m still trying to figure out the method of infection in the first place. The only way I can think these could’ve gotten in here is we’ve had to use our local laundromat to clean stuff since my washer blew up about a month ago. It’s not the cleanest place in the world, natch. And I still don’t have my own washer replaced. How I’m going to afford it now with all the vet bills I see coming is a mystery to me.

My poor bunnies. Poor Jenna if she has to be treated…she hates stuff being put in her ears. Or God help me if it’s injections, we know how good I am with those!

Any itching *I* do now has me racing for my antibiotic soap.

I feel like I want to burn everything I own. Sometimes I feel like whatever I touch gets ruined.

To top this all off…any vet we have seen in the past is apparently unavailable. We’re seeing someone totally new…again. No idea how good she is.

Can someone give me a word of hope? This is a hell of a Christmas present. Here’s a gift for you…oh look! It’s a plague! Just what you…always wanted?? NOT!!

[Deleted User]

I think you are overreacting I think it’s the weather… I hear you have had it terribly cold, at least people in my hamlet who came back from fishing in Alaska said so. I think even if it’s mites, there is no certainty that they all have them. Whatever vet you are going to see, tell her that you need a skin scraping and don’t let her send you away without having done one. Mites are pretty easy to resolve with a prescription of ivermectin.

[MimzMum]

Oh dear…someone you know was up here fishing in our nasty -40 below this last week? 0_o My sympathies go out to them. Truly. It’s been a WHACK year for weather. Not to mention just plain dangerous.

Well, I think what spooked me is the wax showing up…and then to realize it was in Fiver’s ears too. Eep. I just don’t know how long they have all been this way.
Is it possible (since I am SO lazy about nail trimmings…and anal glands too, another favorite chore) that their ears are just dirty from having, for example, Fiver’s poopy butt that gets all over his feet…then it gets into his ears when he scratches at them? I mean…do bunnies ever get JUST ear wax? Or infections of the ear from too long, dirty toenails?
Fiver used to need his ears cleaned for something like that. His vet gave me an antifungal to use for 14 days about a year or so ago when it looked like he had something similar in his ear. Maybe it’s just that. (ihopeihopeihope)

[Deleted User]

Oh yes, rabbits can get too much wax/debris in their ears. One of mine is prone to that. Have the vet check for everything even she is dismissive, so you can be sure!

[MimzMum]

Thanks Petzy! I wouldn’t have thought of the skin scraping. And yes, they are getting tired of me there because I always badger them about EVERY test that can be done…lol.
I’ll try to calm down about it. I just hate the idea of little bugs crawling on my bunnies…or any of my pets or ME for that matter!

[Deleted User]

well, cheer up! entire shelters get infested with mites sometimes and can fix it with the ivermectin and so can you.

[RabbitPam]

Petzy gave great advice. It’s really just mites. Don’t get going on the expansive thinking and ruin your holiday with anxiety. It’s actually sounding like they are all doing much better this year, so get it looked at, write down the name of Petzy’s treatment, and get it done. The only things crawling on you are cute little doggie and kitties and the occasional bun.

[MimzMum]

Well, I’d be more optimistic, but now I just got a better look down down Pip’s left ear and there’s a hard, yellowish crusty lesion just ahead of the entrance to the canal. *headdesk* I can’t shift it with a q-tip and she started scratching at my hand the minute I tried, so I left it alone. So it looks like all three have been affected by something.
Ah well…had to happen sooner or later I guess. My luck just ran out. To top it off, I was settling down for the night last night and noticed I had some Aleve missing from my dosage container and so had to rip the bed apart to see where it went…never found it. Ugh. Now I’ve got to tear the whole room apart. The last 24-48 hours have not been great for me. Yikes.
So will they all need shots? Jenna too? The cats? Or is there a topical?
The only other thing I would even think it could be, since Jenna just got over one, is a yeast/fungal infection of the ear. But we’ll see what the doc says Wednesday. I’ll be on pins & needles till then.
lol…I just thought of my bumper sticker that says, “Never ask if things could get worse, God takes this as a personal challenge.” No kidding! xD

[Sarita]

Mites are one of those weird things that some rabbits get and some don’t. It can be due to a low immunity. My first rabbit had them all the time.

[MimzMum]

All the time? Holy cow, Sarita, how did you deal with that? I mean, is ivermectin just one of those medicines that a rabbit could be on it’s whole life? 0_o
I find one website that says they’re communicable to humans, and other that says it’s not…I don’t know what to believe.
I’m also looking up where I can find vanodine in my area. I’ve been meaning to try that as I’m pretty sure vinegar and water is not going to send the little buggers away.

[jerseygirl]

Mmmm… you seem to have a fear of mites MM!

 

How the hell did I not see this? There’s been no itching and scratching that would alarm me, just their usual stuff..

Easily. If this is mites, you’d be seeing the 1st visible signs same as most of would be. Mites don’t always cause itching. They’re not always visible to the eye. A vet may not even see them under a microscope sometimes! Goodness, don’t give your self a hard time. This is not a sign of inadequete care on your part. 100% NOT to do with what you have or have not done! I think even a little wax and nose goop is not a terrible thing. The body produces these for a reason. Evidence of these just means the body is doing it’s job.

Mites are totally common. From what I understand rabbits (prob other animals too) can have mites on them at all times but it’s a small number and their own system keeps it under control. But don’t quote me. I think of it like how we have a certain amount of bacteria or virus in and on our bodies that really cause no harm when we are healthy.
Mites and other parasites can also piggyback in via other means i.e.come via hay, grass, other animals etc.

Anyway, they can take advantage (hence the term parasite) at times and it becomes a problem. One that is totally treatable. You get the numbers down and life goes on.

(((Hugs)))

[MimzMum]

Thanks guys…I’m trying to be calm about it, really. It could turn out to be nothing. Keeping my prayers going.
Yeah, I REALLY hate the idea of bugs. Any kind of bug. I can tolerate butterflies & ladybugs, that’s about it. Kinda like Blathers the Owl in Animal Crossing.

I think when I first found out about those little bugs that eat your dead skin cells and live on your pillows when I was a kid, I had nightmares for weeks. 0_o

And of course, Fiver’s pen is right next to my bed, so… *shudders*

[Sarita]

You can use Revolution MM. I always had that on hand for when Bunbun got them.

[MimzMum]

So, another question. If the gunk in each of their ears looks different, (Fiver’s is a light waxy substance. Mimzy has the ‘growths’ on the end of his ear plus waxy stuff, and Pip has the hard yellow wax -it almost reminds me of what I get out of her anal glands- and possibly darker stuff down in the canal) should I take in all three? Or is just Mimzy okay for now?
Five & Pip could use some help with their nail trims. :/
I’m also going to have them check his nose, he has goobers flying out both sides now.
I just wonder if they should all get a scraping done, just in case they all have something different.

[Deleted User]

Has he been tested for pasteurella? Many bunnies carry it without being very ill, with just occasional flare-ups.
I highly doubt all your pets will have a different parasite, especially in your climate.

[MimzMum]

lol….The climate outside my house? Or inside? (The front of the house where my room is has to be about 80 degrees most days, due to the crummy boiler we have that doesn’t regulate heat right. The back room is freezing all the time.)
You know, you bring up a point I meant to ask about…I’m thinking back to a recent (within the last year) check up for Mimzy and of course my vet looked in his ears and I’d asked about parasites…she said we don’t have mites up here. I do know the kids were always told not to share hats or brushes in elementary school because we can get lice, which she did warn about…but she (and this was the good vet that I can hardly get in to see anymore) didn’t seem to worried about the bunnies having anything like this.
I’d forgotten the conversation until my daughter reminded me about it last night.

EDIT: Whoops…yes he was tested for pasteurella and it was negative, but he did have something called branhamella which I guess is related. But his last treatment in this area was for bronchitis and he successfully took zithromax for it. So I’m wondering if it’s flared up again due to that moldy hay.

[Deleted User]

I mean both, climate in- and outdoors. In the cold winter homes tend to be very dry from being heated and it’s less favorable for bugs. It’s still possible that they turn up in a spot with suitable humidity etc. but it’s just not as likely.
I don’t know if the moldy hay would compromise his immune system. I think either this hay would have made them dreadfully and overtly ill or not at all ~
Bunnies can thrive even if they have tested positive for some disease(s), until their immune systems get burdened with extra stress such as breeding/lactating, poor feed, being crowded, being moved, temperature changes, or anything stressful.
Possibly it is a seasonal thing? My friend’s bunny goes through phases of sneeziness every spring for unknown reasons even though she was tested for allergies, etc. Maybe Mimz is suffering from dust allergies? If your house is anything like mine right now, it is dusty from forced air heating.

[MimzMum]

Hogeeze. Just lost everything I’ve spent the last half hour typing in response due to my crappy keyboard. >_<
Binky Store box got here today, so yay! Fresh oat hay…my babies will be so happy! Good to know that the buns would be showing more signs of illness IF the moldy hay had affected them. That really had me worried. I know they miss the timmy, but the oat is ‘uppity bunny approved’.

Let’s see…yes, Mimzy does tend to have sneezy times more often during temperature changes. Early spring, late fall are his worst episodes, but he can sneeze all year long and I wonder if it’s not due to him being a lop?

We have baseboard heating and a boiler. I think the fact that the house is not sealed from the dirt floor in the crawlspace underneath the house at some points (we converted our garage, with the boiler in it, into a living room and two more bedrooms years ago) causes a lot of the dust in the house…and anything crawling in the walls, like wasps in summer or ants must cause more dust that I can’t get to.
I wonder sometimes if the boiler is giving off fumes that may be getting to the bunny room somehow. Something I can’t smell, but that would affect his breathing.

I would think that very hot, if dry, temperatures would encourage the growth of less desirable organisms. I can see how deep cold would kill them, or perhaps flash freeze them to be ‘awakened’ at a later date. They’ve found more than a few things up here that survive even the coldest temps.
Well…take mosquitoes for instance. How the heck do their numbers live through our winters to plague us in the spring and summer? We’ve even got a little frog here that comes out in the warmest part of the year and wanders around our back yard. So I can guess that other things would survive just about any temp we can throw at them here. Kind of maddening.

Eh…either way we’ll find out Wednesday. I’ve decided to take all three buns anyway because the vet will do a courtesy nail trim for me and then I can have her look the other two over as well to be sure they are healthy. Maybe we’ll also finally find out what that stink is Pip’s been making lately when I open her habitat. I think she’s trying to skunk me out!

BTW, Mimzy’s left ear, that was so ragged on the tip, looks much better today. 0_o I can’t really see the cuts or fleshy stuff when I looked this afternoon. The inner pinna appears cleaner than it was yesterday. So I’m hopeful again.

[MimzMum]

Well fine, you guys can now laugh and point and tell me you told me so…
Bunnies all passed their scrapings/exams with flying colors. No mites! Just a LOT of wax. No mast cells either on Mimzy, she thinks they’re just scabs healing and they ARE really better now. Yay! Thank you, Lord, now I can get back to the business of celebrating your birthday! ^_^
The ‘new’ vet is nice. Apparently she comes up during the cold months to help spell the vets here, but otherwise she lives down south…can’t recall where she said, I was just so over the moon that the buns were clean!
So yeah…BIG EXHALE. And thanks to everyone who responded to my post and it’s subsequent rantings and ravings. You guys are the best!

(Oh yeah…all toenails trimmed too. Fiver was the only unlucky one this time, she went at an odd angle and clipped the first quick, but he’s okay.)

[Monkeybun]

Yay! Glad they are okay Did Mimzy’s nose get looked at or not this time?

[MimzMum]

Well of course, the whole time he was at the vets he didn’t sneeze once…while she was in the room. He did sneeze twice when she left. And she was going in and out constantly to check the ear scrapings. She looked him over good, but didn’t find anything wrong with his ears, nose, or his teeth.
I suppose I should’ve asked for a nasal swab while I was at it, since I rang up over $300 in the ear checks and nail trims alone. I’m flipping broke.
I’m beginning to think it really is environmental, because after being home for a few hours and back in his habitat, off he goes with the sneezing again. Not a lot of it, just once in awhile.
He has had this pen for three years and it’s pretty stained in some places and no amount of scrubbing gets it clean completely. Maybe it’s just collecting minute dust of some sort that’s irritating him. Or for all I know, it could be what I’m using to clean it. The water/vinegar mix probably smells worse and stronger due to how hot it is in that room all the time. But I don’t see any correlation between temperature itself and his sneezing. Seriously, it was -40 outside in some places, and was at least -30 here at home while we carted them in and out of the car. Shouldn’t he have been sneezing his head off?

Anyway, at least I can breathe easy over the ear thing. And three bunnies now have much more comfortable toes. What I want to turn my attention to as soon as possible, is a conglomeration. ^_^ There was a lot of litterbox digging and scuffling around from a few of them to and from town. Their carriers were side by side although none of them could reach through to one another. Mimzy was by far the busiest bunny in the car today. He is normally quite silent.
I think he wants a little more time to spend with his buddy. (Fiver)
Pip was only noisy while she was sitting next to Mimzy (on the way home). While Fiver was in between them (on the way to town) she was pretty quiet. I’m wondering if that means anything in bunny language.

[RabbitPam]

I think it means “unless this car is pointed south and heading for Hawaii, I am SO done with this carrier-to-the-vet thing. Want to make a break for it?”

*Laughs, points finger at MM, says I told you so…just for fun since you gave us permission…*

I think change to the room would do you all a world of good. A new cage is never a bad idea if you can get one. I doubt it’s the water/vinegar solution. Wouldn’t stop that.

MM, would you believe I had a big sneezing fit in the middle of writing just now? Sheesh!

[Deleted User]

Mimz, I’m glad you are parasite free, I mean your pets.. but i wonder if you’d like to try moving Mimz into another room to see if the sneezing changes?
I had Deirdra sneezing for a few weeks and the vet said she was fine… but then I discovered the Zupreem rabbit feed at the time was really dusty, so much so, that there was a pile of dust in the food dish and she literally inhaled that and sneezed from that! I contacted Zupreem about it and they said that I lived so remote that the feed gets shaken up and ground up in transit to cause this dust. They have since added another binding agent and it is now dust-free.

[Author]

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